The ground shudders as the city shakes. A Dragon-level monster or higher... tears through buildings. Tatsumaki flies in a green aura of psychic energy, but even she’s barely holding it together.

"Damn it!" she hisses, her psychic barrier cracking under the brute force. "This thing’s stronger than I thought!"

Bang and Bomb lunge into the attack, fists blury, but the monster barely flinches. Metal Bat swings with everything he has, his bat swining through the air, but even that only scratches the creature. slowly the heroes falter, bruised and exhausted. Tatsumaki’s knees hit the ground, her energy flickering.

The monster roars, despair hanging heavy in the air. Then smoke swirls, rubble shifts... and a figure steps through.

"Impossible..." Tatsumaki breathes, disbelief on her face. "You were supposed to be…"